1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-display apparatus and methods thereof, and more particularly, to a multi-display apparatus that can display a stable, smooth, high quality image, a method of manufacturing the multi-display apparatus, and a method of improving the multi-display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, multi-display apparatuses realize a large screen by connecting a plurality of display panels. In the past, a large screen was realized by connecting a plurality of Braun tubes, also known as cathode ray tubes (“CRTs”), to form a large TV. However, recently, due to the increasing demand for a large screen in small mobile apparatuses such as mobile phones or personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), apparatuses that realize a large screen by connecting flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”), field emission displays (“FEDs”), plasma display panels (“PDPs”), and organic light-emitting diodes (“OLEDs”), are being produced.
Multi-display apparatuses are manufactured by connecting a plurality of unit panels end to end in parallel. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional multi-display apparatus of the prior art including two unit panels 10. There are various ways of connecting the two unit panels 10. Recently, for convenience of transportation, a foldaway connection structure using hinges has been employed to connect unit panels in a multi-display apparatus.
However, when the two unit panels 10 are connected, if a width w of a seam between the two unit panels 10 is too wide, an image at the seam is not smoothly formed but viewed as disconnected. That is, as schematically depicted in FIG. 1, a flat panel display panel includes a sealing structure in which a display device 12 is mounted on a substrate 11 and glass 13 is attached to the substrate 11 using an adhesive. The glass 13 generally has a rim thickness t of approximately 1 mm, and thus, when the two unit panels 10 are connected, the width w of the seam is at least 2 mm. Usually, when the width of the connection part of the image is less than 1.0 mm, a smoothly connected image can be viewed. Accordingly, if the width of the connection part is 2 mm, which exceeds 1 mm, the image quality is reduced.
However, when the rim thickness t of the glass 13 is excessively reduced, there is a high possibility that gaps will be formed between the substrate 11 and the glass 13 if there is a slight processing error, and thus moisture can penetrate into the display device 12, and also, when the glass 13 is attached to the substrate 11 using the adhesive, the adhesive can be pushed towards the display device 12 causing malfunction of pixels.
As depicted in FIG. 2, instead of the glass 13, a thin film encapsulating structure in which the display device 12 is surrounded by a plurality of thin film layers to protect the display device 12 has been disclosed. The aim of the thin film encapsulating structure is to protect the display device 12 from impact and moisture penetration by alternately stacking flexible organic material layers 21 and inorganic material layers 22 having a high moisture proofing characteristic. Using the thin film encapsulating structure, the width of the connection part can be reduced since the end portion of the connection part does not require a minimum thickness limitation unlike the glass 13. However, the layer that directly contacts the display device 12 must be one of the organic material layers 21, which have a poor moisture proofing characteristic, to protect the display device 12 from impact. That is, when the conventional glass 13 is used, there is a space between the glass 13 and the display device 12, thus, although there is an impact on the glass 13, the impact is not directly transmitted to the display device 12. However, in the case of the thin film encapsulating structure, an external impact can be directly transmitted to the display device 12. Therefore, in order to secure a buffer function, the display device 12 is buried in the organic material layer 21 as depicted in FIG. 3.